Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatus and information processing method for generating a print job and sending the print job to a printing apparatus when contents (print data) are entered into a hot folder.
Description of the Related Art
As a system for entering a print job into printing apparatus, systems using a hot folder have been developed (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-118095, for example). The hot folder is generally a folder created on a PC. A resident application program called hot folder manager checks whether a document is entered into the hot folder or not by predetermined period.
When the hot folder manager recognizes that a document has been entered into a hot folder, it determines whether the entered document (hereinafter also referred to as entered contents) is in a form that can be processed at the printing apparatus side or not (for example, PDF, PS, TIFF, JPEG).
The hot folder has a job summit function for sending the entered contents to the printing apparatus previously specified in the hot folder, when the entered contents are determined as in a form that can be processed at the printing apparatus side.
The hot folder manager can also previously set print setting for the hot folder. The system including such a hot folder manager and a hot folder creates print setting that has been set as a job ticket and adds to the entered contents. There are hot folder managers with a job ticket adding function for sending a job ticket and entered contents as a print job to printing apparatus.
In the POD (Print On Demand) market, creating a high-value added printed material such as case binding with different print medium types and printing quality for each page instead of a simple printed material such as those created in conventional office printing is needed. Accordingly, it is desired that the hot folder for the POD system has print setting different for each unit of page/page area) previously set. In the POD system, not only a digital photograph printer but also various devices such as an offset printer are assumed as the destination of a job. Accordingly, the job ticket, which is print setting, needs to match the specification of the industrial standard as the JDF (Job Definition Format). Hereinafter, the job ticket in the specification of the industrial standard is called the JDF.
In the JDF, it is defined to specify the final page by ‘−1’ and the page previous to the final page by ‘−2’ with ‘−1’ being a base for specifying the final page of the entered contents. Such a specifying method needs to be used in the JDF. If the print setting for the back cover is set independent of the print setting for the body as exceptional page setting in the hot folder and the total number of pages of the entered contents is insufficient for the print setting, the print setting contradicts with the entered contents.
If the entered contents are inconsistent with the print setting of the job ticket added in the hot folder, the output specification depends on the processing at the printing apparatus. That may result in cancellation of the job, hung up due to an error, implementation of print ignoring the print setting inconsistent with the entered contents in some units of printing apparatus. As a result, printed materials from printing apparatus in different models or from different manufacturers appear different. That poses a problem in that the printed materials with inconsistent appearances are provided for a user such as a client of printing or an operator, which is inconvenient.